Silverstein Could Be Caught Up In Hacker’s Threat To Release Sensitive 9/11 Documents

Twin Towers, WTC, World Trade Center
The World Trade Center In Manhattan Before The Attacks Of Sept. 11, 2001.

A hacker who claims to have stolen thousands of sensitive documents relating to the attack on the Twin Towers is offering to sell them off to terrorist groups for bitcoin.

The FBI is investigating the theft of 18,000 insurance and legal documents, the Financial Times reports.

The hacker, which is posting as “The Dark Overlord,” claimed this week it has stolen emails and nondisclosure agreements about the attacks that were shared between insurers Hiscox and Lloyd’s of London as well as law firm Husch Blackwell, formerly Blackwell Sanders Peper.

The group has invited ISIS, al-Qaeda and others to bid for documents.

A spokesperson for Silverstein Properties, which signed a $3.2B, 99-year ground lease on the towers six weeks before the attack, said it is doing an internal investigation but as yet has found no evidence that a breach has taken place at the company.

“We are aware of claims of alleged security breaches at firms involved in the five-year insurance litigation following the attacks of 9/11, and are conducting an internal investigation based on these claims,” the spokesperson said in an email. “We have spent the last 17 years fulfilling our obligation to deliver a magnificent and fully rebuilt World Trade Center. We will not be distracted by 9/11 conspiracy theories.”

Hiscox has known since April that a system one of its legal advisers uses was hacked, and said that it is working with authorities on the matter. Husch Blackwell told the FT it has not been hacked, and Lloyd’s of London said it has not yet found any evidence its systems have been breached.

“The Dark Overlord” has a history of extorting companies, and threatening to release documents unless its victims pay. The group said that solicitors, politicians, law enforcement agencies, insurers and others should contact the group if they want their documents removed from the cache, Motherboard reports.

“However, you'll be paying us,” the group wrote.

Continue reading this story with a free account

Log in or register
Sign up for more articles like this
Subscribe to Bisnow's New York Newsletters
Related Stories

From Bankruptcy To $400M Buying Spree: Michael Shah's Rapid Comeback

Pace Of NYC Housing Construction Plunges As Developers Play Small Ball

How Will Opportunity Zones 2.0 Impact Seattle? One Expert Weighs In

After Departing Trump Admin, HUD's Former Philly Head Joins Local Planning Commission

Investors Anchor Big Capital Into Marinas, Betting On Shallow Supply

Developers Eyeing Dallas' 50-Mile Trails Loop For Uptown-Like Opportunities

NYC Office Investor Warns It Could Go Under As Defaults Pile Up

Large Commercial Real Estate Sales Up 30% Despite Economic Headwinds

Chetrit Group 'Being Dissolved' As Family Turmoil Spirals

Century 21 Retail Redevelopment Advances With New Financing, Leases: The N.Y. Deal Sheet

Avison Young Plans Second Major Recapitalization Since 2024

Judge Approves $70M Sale Of Philly's Largest Office Complex